Wire stringing device for paper machinery



June 22, 1954 J. BAXTER, JR, ETAL 2,681,721

WIRE STRINGING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINERY 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April25, 1952 AT 3 M.

Q i k:

INVENTORS JOSEPH BAXTER JR -paamsszw' MWQ'E fi ATTOR NEYS June 22, 1954WIRE STRINGING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINERY Filed April 25, 1952 6Sheets-Sheet 2 5'1 FIG-3 l Q in INVENTORS JOSEPH BAXTER,JR., WALLACE D.HERRICK a FARHANG JAVID- ATTORNEYS June 22, 1954 J. BAXTER, JR, ETALWIRE STRINGING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINERY Filed April 25, 1952 6Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS JOSEPH BAXTER,JR., y WALLACE D. HERRICK 8 FAl-ANG AVID ATTORNE g June 1954 .I. BAXTER, JR.. ETAL 2,681,721

WIRE STRINGING DEVICE FOR PAPER/"MACHINERY Filed April 25, 1952 6Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG-8 FIG-9 INVENTORS 60 JOSEPH BAXTER,JR.,

BY WALLACE D. HERRICK 8| AT TOR NEYS June 22, 1954 J. BAXTER, JR, ETALWIRE STRINGING DEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINERY Filed April 25, 1952 6Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG-1O FIG-H m O m m in X N E IA HD P A 4m. 16w 6 67FARHANG JAVID BY ATTORNEYS J 1954 .1. BAXTER, JR, ETAL WIRE STRINGINGDEVICE FOR PAPER MACHINERY Filed April 25, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 6INVENTORS FE, JOSEPH BAXTER,JR, zzz !j WALLACE D.HERR|CK a FARHANG JAVIDBY EYS ATTORN Patented June 22, 1954 WIRE STRINGING DEVICE FOR PAPERMACHINERY Joseph Baxter, Jr., Franklin,

Wallace D. Herrick,

Dayton, and Farhang Javid, Middletown, Ohio, assignors to TheBlack-Clawson Company, Hamilton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio ApplicationApril 25, 1952, Serial No. 284,432

12 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a device for use in stringing the continuousforming wire on a Fourdrinier paper machine.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a wire stringingdevice of such construction and mode of operation that it will unreelthe wire completely in the aisle beside the paper machine, carry thewire into properly strung position on the machine, and then deposit thewire on the supporting parts of the machine and withdraw from themachine in such manner as to give maximum assurance against damage tothe wire.

This object is accomplished in accordance with the invention by means ofa wire stringing device composed of a plurality of operatively connectedcarriage units each of which includes one or more rigid supportingmembers for receiving the wire thereon. These units are connected forrelative collapsing movement transversely of their length to compactform for storage and also for initially receiving the wire looselythereon at the start of the wire stringing operation, and then when thedevice is expanded by moving the units apart lengthwise of the wire, thelatter is progressively stretched into fully unreeled condition to formthe complete loop ready for mounting on the paper machine. In addition,these supporting members are mounted for movement on the base portionsof the device in the direction of their lengths to project intooverlapped relation with the aper machine and thus to carry the wireonto the machine in its unreeled condition, after which the supportingmembers are retracted free of the wire to leave the wire in strungposition.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a wire stringingdevice for a paper machine which includes a plurality of supportingmembers for the wire mounted for movement lengthwise of the wire betweena collapsed position for receiving the wire thereon and an ex .pandedposition in which they support the wire in a fully unreeled loop, andalso for movement in the direction of their length and thus transverselyof the length of the wire to carry the unreeled loop into properposition on the paper machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire stringing devicefor a paper machine wherein the wire is initially supported apart fromthe machine in unreeled form on a plurality of main supporting membersmounted for movement in a direction transverse of the wire to advancethe wire onto the machine and thereafter to retract out of supportingrelation with the wire, and wherein also the main supporting members forthe wire carry supplemental supporting members which retain the wire inadvanced position during retraction of the main supporting members andthereafter withdraw from engagement with the wire to deposit the wire onthe machine.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a wire stringingdevice as outlined above wherein each main supporting member for thewire is equipped with a belt which lies. between the wire and thesupporting surface of the main supporting member and which duringretraction of the supporting member is effectively peeled away from thewire without sliding movement relative thereto in order to support thewire out of sliding engagement with the retracting supporting member andthus to deposit the wire on the supporting parts of the machine withmaximum assurance against damage thereto.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a wire stringing devicefor a Fourdrinier paper machine which is capable of power operation andrequires minimum manual effort on the part of the operators in order togive further assurance against accidents tending to damage the wireduring stringing thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view looking towardsthe front side of a Fourdrinier paper machine and showing the wirestringing device of the invention in operative position;

Fig. 2 is a view generally in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1illustrating the operation of one of the carriage units of the device inconjunction with a fragment of the paper machine;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 3-3 and 4-4 respectively of Fig.1 showing other units of the wire stringing device;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing several units of the device inboth collapsed and expanded positions;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating one of the bracing connectionsbetween adjacent units of the device;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view in the nature of a perspectiveillustrating the relative arrangement and operation of the several beltsand cables which operate one of the units of the wire stringing device;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary View partly 3 in side elevation andpartly broken away in vertical section to show the construction andoperation of the upper part of one of the carriage units of the device;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 8 showing the correspondingportion of the lower part of the carriage unit;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on the line iii-iii of Fig. 8 and also ofFig. 2;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary-view in side elevation of a portionof the wire stringing device;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line l2-i2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a detail view of one of the multiple pulleys mounted on thedrive shaft of each unit of the wire stringing device;

Fig. 14 is a section similar to Fig. 10 taken approximately on the lineI l-i 4 of Figs. 2 and 9;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary and diagrammatic view further illustrating theoperation of the device;

Figs. 16 and 17 are enlarged sections similar to Fig. 1c and taken onthe lines Iii-l8 of Fig. 3 and i'i--il of Fig. 4, respectively;

Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing the wire in coiled condition in asupporting device suitable for use in conjunction with the wirestringing device of the invention;

Fig. 19 is a detail view of a portion of the wire supporting device ofFig. 18;

Fig. 20 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating the initial step inunreeling the wire onto the wire stringing device of the invention;

Figs. 21 and 22 are views similar to Fig. 20 showing intermediate stepsin the unreeling operation;

Fig. 23 is a view similar to Fig. 20 showing the wire fully unreeled onthe device of the invention in readiness for stringing on the papermachine;

Fig. 24 is a somewhat diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 2 illustratingthe operation of a modified form of the wire stringing device of theinvention; and

Figs. 25 and 26 are fragmentary views illustrating diagrammatically theuse of the wire stringing device of the invention with anon-cantilevered paper machine.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, Figs. 1 and 2 show generally the operation of'awire stringing device constructed in accordance with the invention forstringing the forming wire W on a Fourdrinier paper, machine indicatedfragmentarily and diagrammatically as including a breast roll 20, tablerolls roll 22 and guide rolls 23. The wire stringing device of theinvention is especially advantageous for use with a Fourdrinier' machinehaving the wire section thereof provided with a cantilevered mounting,and Fig. 2 shows a fragment of such a machine constructed as disclosedin the copending application of Joseph Baxter, Jr., Serial No. 264,088filed December 29, 1951, and assigned to the same assignee as thisapplication. This machine is indicated as including multiple trussmembers 25 having a cantilevered mounting at the back side of themachine and each secured at the front side of the machine to a post 26which carries the front end of one of the guide rolls 23 and also theshake rail 2; supporting the front ends of the table rolls 2!. The post26 normally rests on a base or foot member 28, and the part 29 is a rooffor receiving the water draining from the wire and table rolls anddirecting 2 I, a suction couch ber 56 and a pair of upper and lower 6.such water to the back of the machine a described in the above notedBaxter application.

The wire stringing device as a whole is composed of multiple singlecarriage units 33 each of substantially identical construction, twosimilar end carriage units 3| and 2320f modified construction, and twoother similar carriage units 3'5 each of the same further modifiedconstruction and stationed next to the end units 35 and 32 respectively. The several units are connected together for movementtransversely of their lengths between a folded or collapsed compact formas shown at the upper part of Fig. 5 and in Fig. 20, and an expandedposition in which they extend slightly beyond both ends of the papermachine as shown in Fig. 1. For example, adjacent units may be connectedas shown by means of several pairs of pivoted links 35 operating with ascissorslike action. In order tobrace the several units with respect toeach other when the device is expanded, the links 35 may be connectedwith an over-center locking action as shown in Fig. 6, with one linkextending beyond its pivotal con" nection 36 to the other and carrying astop such as a turned over lug 3'5. The two links may be yieldably heldin the resulting braced relation by means of a spring such the torsionspring 38 as shown in Fig. 6.

The several carriage units case are all preferably connected with acommon drive for power operation as described hereinafter. As shown,each unit includes a drive shait id, and these shafts are all adapted tobe connected by intermediate shafts ii each having a hinged coupling 62at one end and a releasable coupling at the other end to facilitatedisconnection when the device is collapsed. She shaft it in the end unit32 is adapted for connection to a source of drive power, represented bythe pulley M and motor 55 (Fig. '7) to cause simultaneous rotation ofall of the shafts 40.

One of the carriage units 3E3 is shown in detail in Fig. 2 and Figs.7-14. It includes a generally C-shaped frame composed of a main backmemiembers 5i and 52 shown as I-beams. The upper beam 5i is supported incantilevered relation with back member 5!! by means of the sides 53 ofback memher 56 and a truss comprising struts 55 i and a diagonal brace55, the latter being shown in Figs. 11 and 12 as formed of a pair oftubular members 56 and 5? secured together by the parts 53 at theirlower ends and by a bracket 58 at their upper ends. The entire carriageunit 30 is mounted for movement transversely of its length by means ofWheels 65 mounted on the underside of the lower beam 52. The area iiirepresents an opening in one or both of the side portions 5-3 of backmember 50 which provides ready access to the parts within the carriageand may if desired be fitted with a suitable removable cover plate.

Each of the beams 5i and 52 forms a track for one of the supportingmembers or guides which receives the wire and is movable lengthwise onthe beam to carry the wire onto the machine during stringing, the upperguide being identified as 65 and the lower guide as 68. As shown inFigs. 10 and 14, each of these guides 65 and 66 is formed to extendaround the upper ortion of its supporting beam as a convenient means ofretaining the guides thereon, especially when their forward ends areprojected beyond the ends of the beam as shown in Fig. 2, in whichposition their rearward ends are thus supported in cantilevered relationby the beams. Figs. 10 and.

14 also show each of beams 5| and 52 as provided with multiple rollerbearings 61 on both the upper and undersides of their top portions tofacilitate free movement of the guides thereon.

The guides 65 and 66 are effective during operation of the device tocarry the wire into advanced position on the paper machine andthereafter to retract and thus to leave the wire on the machine. Inorder to prevent the wire from retracting with the guides, supplementalsupporting means are provided which act in conjunction with the guidesto retain the wire in advanced position as the guides retract. Inaddition, these supplemental supporting means operate in timed relationwith the retraction of the guides to withdraw from engagement with thewire and thereby to cause the deposit of the wire on the machine.

The supplemental supporting means for the guides 65 and 66 are shown ascontinuous belts which extend along the surfaces of these guidesadjacent the wire and thus maintain the wire out of directly supportedrelation with the guides.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, the belt for upper guide 65 extends alongthe upper surface of the guide and around a pulley H in a bracket 12 atthe front end of the guide, and from pulley II the belt passes over aguide pulley 13 into the space between guide 65 and the upper surface ofbeam 5|. At the rearward end of beam 5|, the

belt passes around a pulley and then down and around a pulley 76 on theframe to a pulley 11 on a shaft 18 extending through a carriage 80mounted for sliding movement along the diagonal brace 55. From pulley11, the belt 1|] passes back to a guide pulley 8| on the main frame andthen up and around a pulley 82 adjacent pulley 15 to the upper surfaceof guides 65.

As shown in Fig. 2, this arrangement forms the belt in into a generallyC-shaped loop having the guide 65 received within one end thereof insuch manner that an advancing flight portion 10a of the loop lies alongthe guide while the corresponding return flight portion 101) extendsalong the opposite side of the guide from the wire. The other end of thewire loop is carried by the carriage '80, and the belt 10 is thus freeto move with and also with respect to the guide 65, but provision ismade at some point along the belt for limiting the movement of itsflight portion 10a to the single direction indicated by the arrow 83 inFig. 8. This may be done conveniently by mounting a pulley 85 inpressure roll relation with one of the other pulleys, shown as pulley82, and by providing the resulting pair of pulleys with means such asratchet wheels 86 and spring biased pawls 81 for preventing theirrotation in the undesired direction. This arrangement thus makes itpossible for both flights of the belt to travel with guide 65 when thelatter advances out from the frame but holds the flight 10a againstretraction with the guide so that all retraction is taken up in theflight 10b.

The mechanism for effecting movement of the guide during wire stringingincludes a cable 90 which is secured at one end to the rearward end ofthe guide 65, as by means of a bracket 9|. The cable 96 extends frombracket 9| forward and around a pulley 92 in a bracket 93 at the forwardend of the beam 5|. From pulley 92 the cable passes back on the oppositeside of the beam toa pulley 94 on the beam and thence downward to a drum95 secured to the shaft 40. An additional cable 99 which forms anintegral part of the drive is secured at one end to the carriage 80, andthe other end of cable 99 is secured to a drum 7 will cause guide to I00secured to the shaft 46. At the upper end of brace 55, the cable 99extends around an idler pulley |0| carried by the bracket 5'8. As shownin Fig. 12, the upper flight of cable 99 passes through the tubularmember 56, and the lower flight similarly passes through the tubularmember 51, the latter being slotted to receive an inwardly projectinglug or fin 102 on carriage to which the two ends of cable 9.9 aresecured.

Figs. '7, 8 and 15 best illustrate the operation of these several partsin moving guide 65 back and forth along beam 5|. Figs. 7 and 8 show theguide in fully retracted position, and in this position of the guide,the carriage is in its uppermost position on brace 55 and the cable 99will be wound on drum Hill. If now the shaft 40 is rotated in thedirection to wind cable 98 on drum 95, the guide will be pulled fromleft to right as viewed in Fig. '7 as a result of the attachment ofcable thereto. The upper end of the belt loop will accordingly move outwith the guide, and in order to provide slack for this movement, theother end of the loop, which is on carriage 80, will move inwardly, thusdrawing the carriage 80 downwardly along brace 55 as the cable esunwinds from" drum Hi9. During wire changing, the wire will rest on thebelt flight 78a, and its weight will prevent relative movement of thebelt and guide so that thus both of belt flight portions 19a and 1thwill travel with the guide while the necessary slack in the belt willpay out around both of pulleys i5 and 82 After the guide 65 has movedout to the limit permitted by travel of carriage 80 and brace 55, thedirection of rotation of shaft 40 is reversed, which will cause cable 99to wind on drum I09 and thus draw carriage 80 up brace 55 Whileat thesame time cable 90 will unwind from drum 95. The reversed movement ofcarriage 88 will cause the part of the belt '10 on guide 85 to be drawnback towards the back of the machine. Since the belt in effect forms asingle elongated loop having its ends located at the pulleys H and 1'!respectively, this movement of carriage 8 be pulled back by the beltalong beam 5|. However, the locking action of pulleys 82 and 85 willprevent rearward movement of the advancing flight portion Illa of thebelt, i. e., movement in the opposite direction from arrow 83 in Fig. 8,as well as movement of the belt portion extending from pulley 82 topulley 11, and therefore the only portion of the belt which takes partin the return movement is the return flight 10b on the opposite side ofguide 55 from the wire and extends around pulley 7!, 73 and 15 to pulley11. This movement continues until carriage 80 reaches its uppermostposition on brace 55, at which time guide 65 will be fully retracted.

In stringing the wire on the paper machine, the wire'is supported on theguide 65 and the similar guides on all the carriage units, and theseguides are caused to move simultaneously in order to carry the wire intoplace on the machine. Thereafter the guides are retracted to leave thewire in place, and the movement of the guide 65 and belt 10 as describedprovides the desired result of the invention in preventing directsliding engagement between the wire and any portion of its supportingstructure during the retracting movement of the guides. This result isobtained directly from the fact that during retraction of the guide 65,there is no movement of the wire with respect to any portion of the beltill with which the wire is in actual contact. Instead,

7 While the guide 65 does slide back below belt 10, the belt does notslide with respect to the wire but rather is peeled away from below thewire around pulley 'H as the guide retracts.

This action is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 15, which shows infull lines the belt and the wire in the fully advanced position of theguides as represented by the pulleys 1| and 13. As these pulleys moveback with the guide to the position indicated in dotted lines at Haandr13a, the guide 65 moves a corresponding distance below belt.'|0, butthere is no movement relative to either the frame or the wire by theflight portion 70a of the belt which extends from the pulley .Ha to theleft as viewed in Fig. 15. Instead, during this movement of the guide,the portion of the belt between pulleys H and I la is simply peeled awayfrom underneath the wire as it passes around pulley H during movementofthe latter to the position Ha. The same is true as the pulley moves tothe position 1 lb, and so forth until the guide is fully retracted.

The operation of the lower guide 66 is substantially the same as thatdescribed in connection with the guide 65. The guide 63 is provided withan endless belt H which extends along its upper surface and around apulley III in a bracket H2 at the front end of the guide, and frompulley l l the belt passes over a guide pulley H3 into the space betweenthe guide and upper surface of beam 52. At the rearward end of the beam,belt ||0 passes around a pulley I I5 to a pulley H6 carried by thecarriage 80 on the opposite end of the shaft T8 from the pulley IT forbelt l0. From pulley H5 the belt ||0 passes back to and around a pulleyH1 located on beam 52 in front of pulley H5 and continues along theupper surface of guide 66. The pulley H8 is shown as cooperating withpulley to form a one-way lock for the belt similar to that provided bythe pulleys 82' and 85 for belt 10 as described.

The guide 56 is operated by a cable I which corresponds to the cable 90for guide 65 and is similarly secured at one end to'the rearward end ofguide 66 as by the bracket |2-|. The cable I20 extends from bracket I2|forward and around a pulley I22 in a bracket I23 at the forward end ofbeam 52, and from pulley I22 the cable passes back along the oppositeside of beam 52 to a pulley I24 from which it passes to a drum. I25secured to shaft 40 on the opposite side of pulley I00 from drum 35.This arrangement of the belt H0 and cable I20 operates in substantiallythe same manner as described for guide 65 to i.

project the guide forward when cable I20 is wound on drum I25 and toretract the guide when the direction of rotation of shaft 40 isreversed, the locking pulleys H1 and H8 then operating to preventmovement of the advancing flight of the belt with respect to beam 52 andthus causing the belt to peel away from below the portion of the wiresupported thereby on guide 56. It will also be noted, as shown in Fig.1, that the beams 5| and 52 are preferably located on opposite sideslaterally of the carriage for ready aligning of the belts I0 and H0 withthe pulleys on carriage 80; and the cables and I20 are similarly locatedon opposite sides of their respectively associated guides and beams;

The several other carriage units 30 may all be identical in constructionto the unit just described, and the carriage units 3|-33are of similarconstruction but are modified inaccordance with particular requirementsresulting from the structure at the two ends of the paper machine. Thusreferring to Figs. 1 and 3, the carriage unit 3| is speciallyconstructed to support the end of the wire loop free of possible contactwith the couch roll while the wire is being carried into position on thepaper machine, and the unit 32 at the opposite end of the machine issimilarly of special construction to support the wire with respect tothe breast roll while it is being moved into position. The carriageunits 33 which stand adjacent the units 3| and 32, respectively, are:likewise of special construction for proper cooperative relationwith'units 3| and 32.

The carriage unit 3| is best seen in Fig. 3, and it includes a main backmember I30 which may include side portions similar to the portions 53 ofpart 50, theseportions being omitted in Fig. 3 for better clarity ofillustration. The unit 3| includes an upper I-beam I3I, but its lowerportion is a bar or beam I32 which takes no part in the wire stringingoperation except to act as a support for the remainder of the carriage.The upper I-bearn' 135 includes a movable guide I33 which corresponds inall essential respects to the guide 55, except that either or both thebeam |3| and guide I33 may be inclined laterally to position the uppersurface of the guide at an angle to the horizontal, for example 45 asshown in Figs. 1 and 16, in order to avoid introducing a sharp turn intothe wire loop. An I-bearn I35, which corresponds with beam 52 is mountednear the middle of carriage unit 3 I, as by means of braces i35, I31?and I38. This beam I supports a sliding guide I50. but the latter ismounted along the underside of the beam in order to provide the propersupport for the end of the wire loop as indicated in Fig. 1. Also,either or both the beam 35 and guide I50 may be inclined similarly tothe upper guide but in the opposite direction and for the same reason,as indicated in Fig. l.

The carriage unit 35 is provided with belts and cables similar to thecorresponding parts described in connection with the carriage unit 30and including a belt I54 and cable I for guide I33, and a belt I45 andcable I l! for guide I40. In order to support the wire out of contactwith guide I33, the face of the guide may be raised as shown in Fig. 16and also recessed to form a track I48 preventing lateral slipping of thebelt. The guide I40 may be similarly formed as indicateddiagrammatically in Fig. 1. If necessary, a retaining gib M9 may beprovided for the return flight of the belt as shown in Fig. 16. Thetrack I for carriage |5| corresponds to the similar part 55 in eachcarriage unit 30, but it is supported in generally horizontal positionby reason of the relatively close spacing of the beams I3| and H35. Thearrangement of pulleys and drums for the several belts and cablescorrespond functionally to that described in connection with Figs. 2 and7, although the locations of some of these parts are changed by reasonof the overall modified structure of this carriage unit, as will beapparent from Fig. 3 without detailed description. Further it will benoted that since the drive shaft 40 is mounted below the track I50, asupplemental drive belt or cable I55 may be employed from the pulley on.shaft 40 to the pulley I55 on track I50 for the purpose of driving thecable operating the carriage |5|..

The carriage unit 32 may be essentially identical with unit. 3| asdescribed in connection with Figs; 1 and 3, except that if desired, therelative spacing'of the upper and lower beams and guides may be changedin accordance with the diameter of the breast roll, and similarly thesebeams and guides may be inclined about a longitudinal axis as describedin connection with unit 3|. Otherwise the general arrangement andoperation of the two end carriage units are effectively identical andwill be readily understood without further detailed description.

The two carriage units 33 are of special construction by reason of thefact that it is desirable to cause the lower flight of the wire to passunder the lower guide on each thereof in order to hold the wire loop inproperly expanded position in cooperation with the end units for freepassage over the breast and couch rolls, as shown in Figs. 4 and 17. Thegeneral structure of these units is not materially diiTerent from theunits 30 as already described, as is apparent from comparison with Figs.2 and 4. In order to simplify the description, the corresponding partsin these two carriage units have been identified as 5B, 5!, and soforth. The lower part of these units, however, is somewhat different inthat an additional lower frame member I60 is employed below the beam 52,in order to support the latter with its underside free for receiving thewire thereunder. The beam 52' is accordingly provided with acantilevered mounting on the carriage frame at its rearward end, asindicated at i 6!, in order to provide space for guide 65 along itslower portion, and it is also connected at its outer end with upper beam51 by a brace I62.

Figs. 18-23 illustrate the operations involved in initially unreelingand depositing the wire on the wire stringing device. Fig. 18 shows thewire in the coiled condition in which it is commonly received at a papermill, namely with two poles 20B and 2G! in the center of the coil and athird pole 202 in the outer end loop. Transfer of the wire to the wirestringing device is facilitated if the poles 289 and 20! are supportedin a rotatable mounting, which may be of any convenient type. Forexample, Figs. 18 and 19 show the ends of these poles supported incarriages 205 each of which forms a circular track for a pair ofsemicircular clamp members 206 formed as shown to receive the two polesand secured together as by bolts 201. The carriages 205 may be joined asshown by a band 2m to form a sling readily transported by a crane asindicated at M2, and the clamp members 206 are freely rotatable with inthe carriages 205.

Fig. 20 shows the relation of the wire to the wire stringing device atthe start of the unreeling operation. The wire stringing device isindicated generally at 2H5 as in collapsed condition with its componentcarriage units in close side by side by side relation, and the wire isunrolled sufficiently to provide a downwardly hanging loop ofsubstantial extent. Next, this wire loop is spread as indicated in Fig.21 by means of the pole 202 and a similar pole 2l6 until it is opened upsufficiently to receive the collapsed wire stringing device therewithin,and the wire and device are then interfitted until the wire is in theproper position with respect to all the several guides. In the nextstep, the wire supporting sling is lowered into close relation with thedevice, and itis convenient to deposit the carriages 205 directly on oneof the carriage units of the device, for example by providing indexingholes in the top of one of the carriage units for receiving pins 2!!onthe underside'of each carriage 205. This relation of the parts is 10shown in Fig. 21, and it may be convenient also to spread the wirestringing device part way as shown in order to take up the slack in theunrolled portion of the wire.

Thereafter the several carriage units of the wire stringing device arepulled further apart as shown in Fig. 22, and this operation may bereadily effected by a power drive, for example by anchoring one of theend carriages to the floor in proper relation to the corresponding endof the paper machine and then pulling the opposite end carriage by acable and drum as indicated at 225 and driven by a suitable motor 2221.After the wire stringing device is almost fully expanded, and the wirethus fully unrolled off its supporting poles, the clamp members 266 maybe unbolted to release pole 201, and the sling may be lifted away by thecrane. The remaining poles 20!, 232 and 2H5 may be manually removed ormay if desired be left within the wire loop on suitable brackets (notshown) on the adjacent carriages. Expansion of the device is thencompleted to the. position shownin Fig. 23 in which the wire is fullyunreeled into an open loop of the proper proportions to be carried overthe supporting structure therefor in the paper machine, and thisoperation is carried out as already described in connection with Figs.2, 7 and 15, with all of the guides advancing simultaneously to carrythe wire into position and then retracting in conjunction with theseveral belts to deposit the wire on the machine.

It will be apparent from Fig. 2 that when the wire stringing device asdescribed is operated in conjunction with a cantilevered paper machine,the guides carry the wire into place in approximately horizontalposition whereas the table rolls and other supporting structure on thepaper machine will be tilted. Ordinarily this is not material,particularly because the several carriages are readily designed so thatthe guides thereon will have as little clearance as possible for thewire at the near side of the machine in order to minimize the verticalspace between the wire and l the table rolls at the far side of themachine.

Furthermore, with the several guides cantilevered as they advance withthe wire, they are likely to sag sufficiently to compensate in largemeasure for the tilt of the machine so that there is no objectionabledistance through which the wire must drop as it is deposited on themachine by the retracting guides and belts. If desired, however, thecarriages of the device can be designed in such manner as to advance thewire in a direction substantially parallel with the tilted. position ofthe machine, by inclining the several supporting beams on the carriagesas is indicated more or less diagrammatically in Fig. 24, wherein one ofthe carriage units is indicated generally at 2 30 while a fragment ofthe machine is indicated at 232, and with this arrangement the wire canbe advanced with only a bare clearance around the machine and thendeposited thereon as described. The tilt of the machine and wirestringing device is exaggerated in Fig. 2d for convenience ofillustration, since ordinarily the side of the machine will be raisedonly a Sllfficient distance, for example 2 or 3 inches, to permit freepassage of the lower run of the wire.

It should also be noted that the wire stringing device of the inventionis not limited to the use of cantilevered paper machine, and on thecontrary it can be used with any machine in which provision is made fortemporarily removing'the supports below the wire section at one side ofthe machine. For such uses, it is merely necessary to equip the upperbeams of a sufficient number of the carriage units with extensionbrackets ca- I pable of attachment to 'themachine for supporting themachine while its lower supports are removed to permit passage of thelow run of the wire into position. This arrangement and operation areillustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 25 and '26, which show at 24s afragment of one of the-carriage units of the Wire stringing device andalso a fragment of a conventional Fourdrinier machine including one ofthe side rails 242, a supporting post or block 243 for the side rail,and .a fragment of one of the table rolls 244.

.As shown in Figs. 25 and 26, the outer end of the upper beam on thecarriage unit is provided with an L-shaped bracket 2'45 adapted toengage below the side rail 252, and it will be understood that similarsuch brackets are provided on most if not all of the upper rails on theother carriage units. With this arrangement, stringing of the new wireis readily efiected by first jacking the side rail 242 sumciently toremove the blocks 243, as indicated by the jack 246. The wire stringingdevice is then advanced into a position of engagement of its brackets245 below the side rail, and thejacks are released to deposit the siderail on these brackets. The wire stringing device will therefore supportthis side of the paper machine clear of the floor to permit the new wire7 to be advanced into position by operation of the several guides asalready described. Thereafter it is merely necessary to jack the siderail again sufficiently to remove the brackets 2&5 and replace theregular supports.

receive and support said wire thereon in unreeled condition forming acontinuous open loop, a drive including driving connections between saidguides and said frame for causing said guides to advance on said tracksin the direction of their lengths to carry said wire looponto saidmachine and thereafter 'to retract from said machinerand meansresponsive to said retracting movement of said guides to cause saidretracting guides to deposit said Wire on said machine.

3. A device for stringing the continuous forming wire on aFourdrinier'paper machine comprising means forming a frame adapted to bepositioned beside said machine, a plurality of guides on said frame eachlonger than the Width of said wire to serve as a support for the entirewidth of said wire, said guides being spaced'ven tically and laterallyon said frame to support/said wire thereon in unreeled condition forminga continuous open loop, drive means on said frame for causingsaid guides:to move thereon in the direction oi": their lengths to advance saidwire "loop While the forms of apparatus herein described constitutepreferred embodiments of the invention, it is .to be understood that theinvention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and thatchanges may be made 'thereinwithout departing from the scope of theinvention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

'1. A device for stringing the continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine comprising a plurality of carriage units each includingatleast one elongated guide longer than the width of said wire to serve asa support for the entire width of said wire, means conecting saidcarriage units in generally parallel and aligned relation for movementbetween a collapsed position of said device to receive'said'wire looselyon said guides and an expanded position wherein said wire is supportedin unreeled position on said guides separately iromsaid machine andforming an open loop, drive means on said carriages for causing saidguides to move on said carriages in the direction of their lengths toadvance said unreeled wire onto said machine, means on said carriagesfor retracting said guides from said machine, and means responsive tosaid retracting movement of said guides to cause said retracting guidesto deposit said wire on said machine.

2. A device for stringing .the' continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine com- .prising a frame adapted to be positioned beside saidmachine, a plurality of tracks on said frame and extending generallytransversely of the length er said machine, a guide movably mounted oneach saidtrack and of suiiiciently greater length than the width of saidwire to serve as a support for the. entire width of said wire, said 7tracks being spaced vertically and laterally on said "frame to locatesaid guides in position to onto said machine, means on said irame'iorretracting said guides from said machine, and means on said guides forretaining said wire against retracting'moveinent with said guides todeposit vsaid'wire on said machine as saidguides retract therefrom.

4. A device for stringing the continuous 'forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine comprising means forming a frame adapted to be positionedbeside said machine, a plurality of guides'on said frame each longerthan the width of said wire to serve as a support for the entire widthof said wire, said guidesbeing spaced verticallyand laterally on saidframe to supp rt said wire thereon in unreeled condition'forrning acontinuous open loop, drive means on said frame for causing said guidesto move thereon in the direction of their lengths to advance wire looponto 'said machine-and thereafter to retract from said machine,supporting members for said wire extending between said wire and saidguides for guides to retain said wire in advanced position duringretraction of said guides, and means for withdrawing saidsupporting'members out of supporting relation with said wire withoutsliding engagement therebetween to cause said wire to remain on saidmachine following retraction of said guides. V r r 7 5. A deviceforstringing the continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinier paper machinecomprising .means donning a frame adapted to be positioned'beside saidmachine, a plurality of guides onsaid frame each longer than the widthofsaid wire toserve as a support for the entire width of said wire, saidguides beingspaced vertically and laterally on said frame to supportsaid wire thereon in unreeled condition forming a continuous open loop,drive means on said frame for caus- "13 and thereby to retain said wirein advanced position relative to said machine, and means for withdrawingsaid supporting members out of engagement with said wire to deposit saidwire on said machine.

6. A device for stringing the continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine comprisingmeans forming a frame adapted to be positionedbeside said machine, a plurality of guides on said frame each longerthan the width of, said wire to serve as a support for the entire widthof said wire, said guides being spaced vertically and laterally on saidframe to support said Wire thereon in unreeled condition forming a'continuous open loop, a belt associated with each said guide andincluding a portion extending lengthwise of said guide between saidguide and said wire to maintain said wire out of directly supportedrelation with said guide, drive means on said frame for causing saidguides to move outwardly thereon in the direction of their lengths toadvance said wire loop onto said machine and to carry therewith saidportions of said belts in stationary relation with said guides and saidwire during said outward movement of said guide, means on said frame forretracting said guides from said machine, means for holding saidportions of said belts against retraction on said guides to preventrelative sliding engagement between said wire and said guides and toleave said wire progressively unsupported beyond the outer ends of saidguides, and means operating in timed relation with said retractingmovement of said guides for withdrawing said belts from said unsupportedportions of said wire to leave said wire on said machine.

7. A device forstringing the continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine comprising means forming a frame adapted to be positionedbeside said machine, a plurality of guides on said frame each longerthan the width of said-wire to serve as a support for the entire widthof said wire, said guides being spaced vertically and laterally on saidframe to support said wire thereon in unreeled condition forming acontinuous open loop, a belt associated with each said guide andincluding an advancing flight portion extending lengthwise of said guidebetween said guide and said wire to maintain said wire out of directlysupported relation with said guide and having the forward end thereofextending around the forward end of said guide to a return flightportion thereof on the opposite side of said guide from said wire, drivemeans on said frame for causing said guides to move outwardly thereon inthe direction of their lengths to advance said advancing flight portionsof said belts in stationary relation with said guides and said wireduring said outward movement of said guide, means on said frame forholding said advancing flight portions of said belts against movementwith respect to said frame in the direction away from said machine, andmeans on said frame cooperating with said drive means for applying arearward pulling force on said return flight portions of said belts tocausesaid guides to retract from said machine and simultaneously towithdraw said belts out of engagement with said wire and thereby toleave said wire on said machine.

8. A device for stringing the continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine comprising means forming a frame adapted to be positionedbeside said machines, plurality of guides on said frame each longer thanthe width of said wire to serve as a support for the entire width ofsaid wire, said guides being spaced vertically and laterally on saidframe to support said wire thereon in unreeled condition forming acontinuous open loop, a continuous belt associated with each said guideand including an advancing flight portion extending lengthwise of saidguide between said guide and said wire to maintain said wire out ofdirectly supported relation with said guide and a return flight on theopposite side of said guide for said wire, means on said frame forcausing said guides to move outwardly thereon in the direction of theirlengths to advance said wire loop onto said machine, means causing bothsaid flight portions of each said belt to travel in stationary relationwith the associated said guide during outward movement of said guide,drive means on said frame for applying a rearward pulling force to saidreturn flight portions of said belts, and means on said frame preventingrearward movement of said advancing flight portions of said belts withrespect to said frame to cause retraction of said guides upon operationof said drive means and to withdraw said belts out of contact with saidwire while preventing relative sliding engagement between said wire andsaid belts.

9. A device for stringing the continuous forming wire on a Fourdrinierpaper machine coinprising means forming a frame adapted to be positionedbeside said machine, a plurality of guides on said frame each longerthan the width of said wire to serve as a support for the entire widthof said wire, said guides being spaced vertically and laterally on saidframe to support said wire thereon in unreeled condition forming acontinuous open loop, a continuous belt associated with each said guideand forming a C-shaped loop receiving said guide within one end thereofto position an advancing flight portion of said loop along said guideand between said wire and said guide and a return flight portion on theopposite side of said guide from said wire, a carriage mounted formovement on said frame inwardly of each said guide and carrying theother end of the associated said belt loop, a drive on said frame forcausing said guides to move outwardly from said frame carrying said wiretherewith onto said machine and simultaneously causing movement of saidcarriages in the opposite direction to provide slack in said beltsenabling said belt loop on said guides to travel therewith, said driveincluding driving connections between said frame and said carriages forthereafter causing reverse movement of said carriages and resultingrearward movement of said belt loop tending to retract said guides freeof said Wire, and means on said frame holding said advancing flight ofeach said belt against movement relative to said frame in the directionof retraction of said guides to cause said guides to slide relative tosaid belt flights while said return flight portions of said belts aretaken up by said reverse movement of said carriages to effect deposit ofsaid wire on said machine substantially without sliding engagement withany part of said device.

10. In a device for stringing the continuous forming wire on aFourdrinier paper machine, the combination of a carriage unit comprisinga frame adapted to be positioned beside the paper machine, a pair ofguides movably mounted on said frame and of sufficiently greater lengththan the width of said wire to receive and support the entire width ofsaid wire, said frame being proace-1,721

portioned to maintain said guides in vertically spaced relationsufficient to receive therebetween a portion of said machine adapted tobe located within said Wire, drive means on said frame for causingmovement of said guides in the directions of their lengths to advancesaid wire onto said machine and thereafter to retract out of supportingrelation with said wire, and means responsive to said retractingmovement of said guides to cause said retracting guides to deposit saidwire on said machine.

11. In a device for stringing the continuous forming wire on aFourdrinier paper machine, the combination of a carriage unit comprisinga frame adapted to be positioned beside the paper machine, a pair ofguides movably mounted on said frame and of sufficiently greater lengththan the width of said wire to receive and support the entire width ofsaid wire, said frame being proportioned to maintain said guides invertically spaced relation sufficient to receive therebetween a portionof said machine adapted to be located within said wire, a continuousbelt associated with each said guide and forming a loop receiving saidguide lengthwise within one end thereof to position an advancing flightportion thereof be tween said wire and said guide and a return flightportion on the opposite side of said guide from said wire, a carriagemounted for movement on said frame between said guides and carrying theother ends of both of said belt loops, drive means on said frame forcausing said guides to move outwardly thereon carrying said wire ontosaid machine with accompanying movement of said ca 'riage in thedirection to provide slack in said belts enabling said loop ends on saidguides to travel therewith, said drive including driving connectionsbetween said frame and said carriage for thereafter causing reversemovement of said carriage carrying said belt loop ends therewith, andmeans on said frame holding said advancing ight portion of each saidbelt against movement in the direction of retraction of said guides to16 cause said guides to slide relative to said belt flights while saidreturn flight portions of said belts are taken up by said movement ofsaid carriage to effect deposit of said wire on said .machinesubstantially without sliding engagement with any part of said unit.

12. In a device for stringing the continuous forming wire on aFourdrinier paper machine, comprising a plurality of carriage unitsadapted to be positioned beside the paper machine and each including avframe, a pair of guides movably mounted on each said frame and ofsufficiently greater length than the width of said wire to receive andsupport the entire width of said wire, means connecting said carriageunits in generally parallel and aligned relation for movement between acollapsed position of said device to receive said wire loosely on saidguides and an expanded position wherein said wire is supported inunreeled position on said guides separately from said machine, saidframes and said connecting means being proportioned to maintain saidguides in vertically and longitudinally spaced relation sufficient toform said wire'into an open loop proportioned to receive therein theportion of said machine adapted to be located within said wire;coordinated drive means on said carriage units for causing conjointmovement of all said guides in the directions of their .lengths toadvance said wire onto said machine and thereafter to retract out ofsupporting relation with said wire, and means responsive to saidretracting movement of said guides to cause said retracting guides todeposit said wire on said machine.

References Gited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,586,204 Lamoureux May 25, 1926 1;1091154 Standley et al Apr.'16, 1929 2,299,746 Hart Oct. 27, 1942

